Electronic trading system including an auto-arbitrage feature or name switching feature

ABSTRACT

An electronic trading system is provided that includes a plurality of trader terminals for receiving credit parameter data, arbitrage parameter data, and trading data from a trading entity and displaying trade information to the trading entity. The trading data includes bid and/or offer information input by the trading entity. The system further includes a computer connected to the plurality of trader terminals via a communications network which receives and stores the credit parameter data and the trading data from the plurality of trader terminals. The system may include a detector circuit or program for automatically detecting an available arbitrage opportunity including a plurality of trades based on the credit parameter data, the arbitrage parameter data, and the trading data; and a circuit or program for automatically executing the available arbitrage opportunity by executing all of the plurality of trades.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electronic trading system whichautomatically identifies arbitrage opportunities created bycredit-related discrepancies within a market and optionallyautomatically executes the appropriate trades, thereby enabling atrading entity to extract low-risk trading profit from the market.

The present invention further relates to an electronic trading systemwhich automatically and instantaneously enables less credit-worthytrading entities in a market to trade using the credit lines of morecredit-worthy trading entities in the market, thereby creatingadditional market liquidity.

BACKGROUND

In electronic trading system for markets in which credit risks andsettlement risks are born by trading parties, the trading parties inputcredit lines into the trading system which are used to limit a tradingentity's exposure created by transactions with other trading entities onthe system. For example, by entering a low or zero credit line for aparticular trading counterparty, a trading entity prevents most or allpotential trades between itself and the potential counterparty. Thus, byadjusting a counterparty's credit line, a trading entity may limit itsgross or net exposure (outstanding risk) based on transactions withindividual counterparties and its total exposure to all counterparties.

In a matching system which enables trading entities to enter creditlimits, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,501 and U.S. Pat.No. 5,375,055, the credit parameters input by the trading entities mayresult in situations in which a first trading entity, trading entity S1,enters an offer which matches a bid entered by a second trading entity,trading entity S2, but the system will not execute the trade becauseeither trading entity S1 has not extended sufficient credit to tradingentity S2, trading entity S2 has not extended sufficient credit totrading entity S1, or both. Otherwise stated, there is insufficientbilateral credit availability between trading entity S1 and tradingentity S2. Notably, the trading entities may be individual banks andtrading institutions and/or groups of banks and trading institutions.

Similarly, trading entity S2 may enter a bid with a higher price than anoffer entered by trading entity S1. Again, S1 and S2 cannot trade withone another because there is insufficient bilateral credit availabilitybetween the two. In this instance, an “arbitrage” opportunity exists inthat a third party, trading entity S3, which has sufficient bilateralcredit with both trading entity S1 and trading entity S2, may buy fromS1 at a low price and sell to S2 at a higher price, thereby obtaining animmediate, low-risk profit due to the credit discrepancies in themarket.

The known electronic trading systems do not provide any means forautomatically identifying an arbitrage opportunity created by creditdiscrepancies in the market and optionally automatically executing theappropriate transactions, thereby enabling trading entity S3 toautomatically, efficiently and effectively capitalize on the arbitrageopportunity and increasing the liquidity of the market without theaddition of new bids and offers. While the system described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,375,055 displays the best available offer and bid prices to marketmakers, thereby indicating that an arbitrage opportunity exists whenthere is a discrepancy between the two prices displayed, the '055 systemdoes not provide any means for automatically identifying and/orcapitalizing on the arbitrage opportunity. Furthermore, the knowntrading systems do not provide any means of ensuring that all tradesneeded to successfully complete the arbitrage transaction will occurprior to executing any of the trades such that trading entity S3 doesnot incur the risk of only one side of the arbitrage transaction beingexecuted.

A related drawback of known electronic trading systems which accommodatemarkets in which the trading entities bear a credit and/or settlementrisk is that these systems do not provide a means by which a lesscredit-worthy trading entity, trading entity S4, may trade with othertrading entities using the credit line of a more credit-worthy tradingentity. For example, if trading entity S4 enters a bid which iscompatible with trading entity S2's offer, but trading entity S2 has notextended sufficient credit to trading entity S4, no transaction couldoccur in the known trading systems. However, if trading entity S4 wereable to use another trading entity's (e.g., S1 or S3) credit line tocomplete the transaction (assuming that trading entity S1 or S3 hassufficient credit with trading entity S2 and S4) through an agreementbetween trading entity S4 and trading entity S1 or S3, the liquidity ofthe market would again be increased. This “name switch” procedure may beinstantaneous (no discretion option is provided) or may be implementedto allow discretion of the part of the user in the context of anelectronic trading system.

The practice of name switching in which one party trades under thecredit lines of another party may currently be accomplished through theuse of a broker. However, there are presently no electronic tradingsystems which can automatically, instantaneously, and effectivelyperform the name switch procedure.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In view of the above discussion, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an electronic trading system which automaticallyidentifies arbitrage opportunities arising from price anomalies thatarise due to credit discrepancies within a market.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electronictrading system which automatically and efficiently executes the tradesnecessary to complete an arbitrage transaction without risk to thetrading entity, or automatically provides a trading entity with theoption to initiate the arbitrage trade.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronictrading system which is capable of performing an automatic,instantaneous name switch operation whereby a less credit-worthy tradingentity uses the credit lines of a more credit-worthy trading entity toexecute a desired transaction which would not be otherwise available tothe less credit-worthy trading entity due to lack of bilateral creditavailability.

The auto-arbitrage and name switch features have different purposes andaddress different needs within a market. The auto-arbitrage featureaddresses the need for a means of enabling a trading entity toautomatically and effectively avail itself of arbitrage opportunitieswithout incurring significant risk. The name switch feature is afunction of the commercial relationships between trading entities,whereby one entity utilizes uses the credit lines of another entity toobtain trades and compensates the other trading entity for the use ofits credit lines. However, both features are implemented through similarfunctions provided within an electronic trading system.

An electronic trading system having an auto-arbitrage feature accordingto the present invention includes a plurality of trader terminals forreceiving credit parameter data, arbitrage parameter data, and tradingdata from a trading entity and displaying trade information to thetrading entity. The trading data includes bid and/or offer informationinput by the trading entity. The system further includes a computerconnected to the plurality of trader terminals via a communicationsnetwork which receives and stores the credit parameter data and thetrading data from the plurality of trader terminals. The system alsoincludes a detector circuit or program for automatically detecting anavailable arbitrage transaction including a plurality of trades based onthe credit parameter data, the arbitrage parameter data, and the tradingdata; and a circuit or program for automatically executing the availablearbitrage transaction by executing all (or none) of the plurality oftrades.

An electronic trading system having a name switch feature according tothe present invention includes a plurality of trader terminals forreceiving credit parameter data, name switch parameter data, and tradingdata from a trading entity and displaying trade information to thetrading entity. The trading data includes bid and/or offer informationinput by the trading entity. The system also includes a computerconnected to the plurality of trader terminals via a communicationsnetwork, wherein the computer receives and stores the credit parameterdata, the name switch parameter data, and the trading data from theplurality of trader terminals. A circuit or program automaticallydetects available name switch transactions based on the credit parameterdata, the name switch parameter data, and the trading data, andautomatically executes available name switch transactions.

The electronic trading system according to the present invention isdesigned to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities that exist in amarket due to credit discrepancies between the parties. This type ofarbitrage is distinguishable from more traditional arbitrage in whichprice discrepancies are created by friction within the functioning of amarket, such as the logistics of completing and settling transactions.This type of arbitrage can be eliminated as markets become moreefficient. However, arbitrage opportunities based on creditdiscrepancies as addressed by the present invention will always existbecause not all trading entities are willing to extend the same amountof credit to all other trading entities.

Also, the intra-market type of arbitrage accommodated by the systemaccording to the present invention is distinguishable from inter-marketarbitrage, for example, “spread” trading in commodity futures markets.Systems that accommodate spread trading, whereby, for example, a partytrades one contract month for another contract month of the samecommodity (“calendar spreads”) or one commodity for another commodity,are known in the art. For example, the GLOBEX® trading system developedby Reuters Limited of London, England accommodates these types ofinter-market trades.

Various additional advantages and features of novelty which characterizethe invention are further pointed out in the claims that follow.However, for a better understanding of the invention and its advantages,reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter which illustrate and describe preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a diagram of an electronic trading system according tothe present invention, including a computer and four trader terminals.

FIG. 2 provides a diagram of a credit matrix including credit parametersentered by each trading entity in the system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 provides a diagram of a market “book” including all bids andoffers available in the market at a specific time.

FIG. 4 provides a diagram of trading entity S1's display screen whichdisplays only those bids and offers which are available to tradingentity S1 based on bilateral credit availability.

FIG. 5 provides a diagram of trading entity S2's display screen whichdisplays only those bids and offers which are available to tradingentity S2 based on bilateral credit availability.

FIG. 6A provides a diagram of a display screen for either trading entityS3 or S4 which displays only those bids and offers which are availableto the trading entity based on bilateral credit availability.

FIG. 6B provides a diagram of a display screen on which multiple tradinginstruments are displayed.

FIG. 7 provides a functional block diagram of the operation of oneembodiment of the electronic trading system according to the presentinvention including an auto-arbitrage feature.

FIG. 8 provides a diagram of a trading entity auto-arbitrage parameterentry screen used in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 provides a diagram of an alert message generated and displayed byone embodiment of the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 provides a functional block diagram of the operation of anotherembodiment of the electronic trading system according to the presentinvention including an auto-arbitrage feature.

FIGS. 11A and 11B provide functional block diagrams of the arbitragedetection operation of the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 provides a functional block diagram of another embodiment of theelectronic trading system according to the present invention including aname switch feature.

FIG. 13 provides a diagram of a name switch parameter entry screen usedin the system according to the present invention.

FIGS. 14A–14D provide an illustration of sample credit parameter andname switch parameter entry screens for trading entities S1–S4respectively.

FIGS. 15–18 provide diagrams of four sample transactions used toillustrate the operation of the name switch feature of the electronictrading system of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, an electronic trading system according to thepresent invention includes a computer 101 and four trader terminals S1,S2, S3, and S4. The trader terminals S1, S2, S3, and S4 are connected tocomputer 101 through a two-way communications network 102 which enablesthe transfer of information between the computer 101 and the four traderterminals S1–S4. The electronic trading system according to the presentinvention is envisioned to include numerous trading terminals andpossibly intermediate nodes located between the trader terminals S1–S4an computer 101 in the communication network. Therefore, the electronictrading system according to the present invention is not limited to theconfiguration shown in FIG. 1.

For purposes of the present description, the terms “trading entity,”“trading party,” “party,” or “counterparty” refer to credit entities.For example, one trading entity or trading party (a credit entity) may,in fact, comprise a number of different branches, for example, a singlebank having numerous branches located in different cities and/orcountries. However, the credit limit entered into the system may be agroup credit limit (a total credit limit extended to a group offinancial institutions). A credit entity may also extend individualcredit limits to each branch of a financial institution and a globallimit which limits the total amount of credit that may be extended tothe financial institution, even though the individual limits are not allmet or exceeded. The credit matrix in the electronic trading systemaccording to the present invention may be modified to accommodate thenecessary credit structures. The communications network may be either ahardwired or wireless system.

A sample credit matrix for the four trading entities S1, S2, S3, and S4is shown in FIG. 2. Entries in the credit matrix are entered by eachtrading entity prior to the commencement of or during trading. Eachtrading entity enters only its respective credit limits for each othertrading entity, and credit limits entered into the other rows of thematrix by other trading entities are not accessible.

For example, with reference to FIG. 2, S1 has credit to trade with S3and S4 but not S2. S2 may also trade with S3 and S4, but is unwilling totrade with S1 (i.e., has not extended credit to S1). Trading entities S3and S4 may trade with all parties. The credit matrix used in the systemaccording to the present invention may store monetary amounts ofremaining credit (as shown in FIG. 2), ranking information such asalphabetic ranking indicating the extent to which one party wishes todeal with another party, yes/no values or any other type of appropriatefilter information.

FIG. 3 provides a diagram of the “book” of all bids and offers that areavailable within the system including the highest available bid and thelowest available offer. This book is stored by computer 101 andoptionally by the remote terminals S1–S4. As shown in FIG. 3, S1 hasentered a bid to buy 3 million at a price of 1.00. S3 has entered a bidto buy 7 million at a price of 0.90. S2 has entered an offer to sell 5million at a price of 1.00. S4 has entered an offer to sell 2 million ata price of 1.10.

FIGS. 4–6A provide schematic diagrams of the display screens of tradingentities S1, S2, S3, and S4 respectively in an embodiment of the presentinvention that includes a credit filtering feature which filters bidsand offers for bilateral credit availability between potentialcounterparties prior to displaying available bids and offers includingthe best available bid and offer. An asterisk (“*”) next to a displayedbid or offer indicates that the bid or offer is the trading entity's ownbid or offer and is therefore not available as a best bid or offer. In adifferent embodiment of the present invention (not shown), if a creditfiltering system is not used to screen the trading entity's displayscreens, each trading entity's (S1's and S2's) display will be the sameas S3's and S4's display shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6B shows an example of a practical implementation of the displayscreen of FIG. 6A wherein a number of trading instruments aresimultaneously displayed.

With reference to FIG. 4, S1's display of bids and offers shows S3's bidand S4's offer because there is sufficient credit between S1 and S3 andS1 and S4 according to the credit matrix shown in FIG. 2. The displayaccording to one embodiment of the present invention also shows S1's ownbid. However, in alternate embodiment of the system according to thepresent invention, S1's own bid may be displayed in a separate window ofthe display screen or not displayed at all.

In the pictured embodiment of FIG. 4, in which the display ispre-filtered for bilateral credit availability, S1's display does notshow S2's offer because S1 and S2 have not extended one anothersufficient credit to trade according to the credit matrix of FIG. 2.S1's display would remain the same even if S1 was willing to extendcredit to S2 but S2 was not willing to extend credit to S1. In thecredit matrix of FIG. 2, however, neither S1 nor S2 has chosen to extendcredit to the other. Thus, the best bid and/or offer available to thetrading entities based on the stored credit matrix are respectivelydisplayed to the trading entities.

With reference to FIG. 5, S2's display includes S3's bid and S4's offerbecause there is sufficient credit between S2 and S3 and between S2 andS4 according to the credit matrix shown in FIG. 2. S2's display may alsodisplay S2's own offer. In alternate embodiments, S2's offer may bedisplayed in a separate window of the display screen or not displayed atall. S2's display does not show S1's bid because there is not sufficientcredit between S1 and S2 to permit a transaction between S1 and S2according to the credit matrix of FIG. 2. Again, the best available bidand/or offer are displayed.

With reference to FIG. 6A, the display screen of trading entities S3 andS4 shows all bids and offers available in the market because S3 and S4have sufficient credit with all counterparties. This display screen mayalso be seen by S1 and S2 if no pre-filtering feature is available inthe system, or if S1 and S2 may select an unfiltered display mode. Asdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, S3 and S4 may see theirown offers/bids, these offers/bids may be displayed in a separate windowof the display screen, or these offers/bids may not be displayed at all.Again, the best bid and/or offer are displayed.

The display screen shown in FIG. 6A illustrates that S3 and S4, byvirtue of having a better credit position that S1 or S2, have access totransactions not available to S1 and S2 due to their worse creditposition. For example, S3 or S4 may buy 3 million from S2 at a price of1.00 and sell the 3 million to S1 for 1.00. These transactions are notavailable to S1 and S2. Instead, they may only be performed through S3or S4 (trading entities with sufficient credit from S1 and S2).Therefore, a transaction opportunity for S3 or S4 is created due tocredit discrepancies in the market.

In the transaction described above, wherein, for example, S3 buys fromS2 and sells to S1, there is no profit to be made by S3 because theoffer and bid prices are the same. While there is no financial incentivefor S3 to facilitate the trade between S1 and S2, S3's decision to do soprovides S3 with information as to the flow of trading instrumentswithin the market. S3 knows that S2 has sold 3 million and that S1 hasbought 3 million. Therefore, in some situations, e.g., when a tradingentity needs information as to who is buying and selling a certaininstrument, there may be a non-financial incentive for S3 to perform thetwo trades at the same price. However, in the more common situation,there is a clear financial incentive to S3 to perform the two trades ifS3 can buy from S2 at a relatively low price and sell to S1 at arelatively high price, thereby making an immediate profit.

The operation of the electronic trading system according to the presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7–10.

As illustrated in the functional block diagram of FIG. 7, a firstembodiment of the electronic trading system according to the presentinvention performs the following steps:

701: The trading entities on the system, e.g., trading entities ontrader terminals S1–S4 shown in FIG. 1, each enter credit parameters fortransactions with the other trading entities on the system.

702: Next, the computer 101 stores the credit parameters (e.g.,numerical limits, rankings, etc.) entered by the trading entities as acredit matrix (for example, the credit matrix shown in FIG. 2).

703: Trading entities enter bids and offers into the system using theirrespective remote terminals.

704: The computer 101 collects bids and offers entered into the systemby the trading entities.

705: Once the computer 101 has collected the credit parameters, bids,and offers from the trading entities, the computer then distributes thebid and offer information as well as the credit matrix to each tradingentity's terminal or to an intermediate node. With respect to thedistribution function of the computer 101, the credit matrix may bedistributed to the trader terminals S1–S4 or intermediate nodeinitially, prior to entry of any bids or offers into the system, ordistributed at the same time as offer and bid information isdistributed.

706: Then, the trader terminals or intermediate node uses the creditmatrix to filter the bids and offers, thereby determining which bids andoffers are available to the respective trading entity based on bilateralcredit availability. The available offers and bids are displayed to thetrading entities S1–S4 as shown in FIGS. 4–6.

707: Prior to the commencement of or during trading activities on thesystem according to the present invention, each trading entity has theoption of entering auto-arbitrage parameters including minimum spreadinformation, minimum size information, and whether to automaticallyexecute the arbitrage transactions or first alert the user of thearbitrage opportunity. One screen which may be used to enterauto-arbitrage options is illustrated in FIG. 8 (see additionaldiscussion below with reference to FIG. 8).

708: Based on the trading entity's auto-arbitrage parameters, if thetrader terminal determines that an arbitrage opportunity is availablebased on the trading entity's specified auto-arbitrage parameters, thetrader terminal either automatically sends an “execute” command tocomputer 101 or automatically generates an alert message for the tradingentity, such as the alert message shown in FIG. 9. If an alert isgenerated and the trading entity decides to pursue the arbitragetransaction, the trader terminal then sends an “execute” command tocomputer 101 in response to the trading entity's input.

709: Once computer 101 has received the “execute” command from thetrader terminal, it automatically initiates a locking procedure wherebyit attempts to lock all of the trades necessary to complete thearbitrage transaction. When the transactions are locked, the system willnot accept any inputs that affect the status or terms of the lockedoffers and bids, thereby preventing a situation in which some of thetrades are executed before others and then the later trades are nolonger available when the system tries to execute them. For example,trading entity S3 could be stuck with 3 million instruments (e.g., U.S.dollars) which S3 cannot sell for the same or a better price becauseS1's bid has been taken by another trading entity, altered by S1, orexpired while the system is executing the trade between S2 and S3. Thus,the locking feature is essential to the electronic trading systemaccording to the present invention to insure that the middle tradingentity (e.g., trading entity S3 in the above example) does not exposeitself to any risk during the arbitrage transaction.

710: If computer 101 is able to lock all trades necessary to completethe arbitrage transaction, the computer automatically executes thetrades.

711: However, if computer is not able to lock all necessary trades, noneof the trades are executed.

712: In either instance, the trading entity is notified that anarbitrage transaction has or has not occurred and provided with anyinformation about the completed arbitrage transaction if any. Forexample, trading entity S1 may be informed that its bid has beenaccepted by trading entity S3. Similarly, trading entity S2 may benotified only that its offer has been taken by trading entity S3.Trading entity S3 will be notified of the completion of its arbitragetransaction.

FIG. 8 provides an illustration of one possible configuration of anauto-arbitrage parameter entry screen. The screen includes a minimumspread entry for a plurality of instruments X, Y, and Z; a minimum sizedesignation for instruments X, Y, and Z; “automatic execute” and “alert”options for each instrument, and an “ok” button to indicate when thetrading entity has satisfactorily entered all auto-arbitrage parameters.The minimum spread determines the price differential needed before anauto-arbitrage opportunity will be recognized by the trader terminal (orthe computer 101 as discussed below with reference to FIG. 10). Forexample, if “0” is entered, the trader terminal will identify anarbitrage opportunity whenever the trading entity can buy and sell theminimum quantity for the same price. If “0.10” is entered, the traderterminal will identify an arbitrage opportunity whenever the tradingentity can sell for a price 0.10 or more higher than the price at whichthe trading entity can buy. The minimum size determines the quantityrequired before an arbitrage opportunity is identified.

The “automatic execute” and “alert” options enable the trading entity toselect whether the system will automatically execute an arbitragetransaction in response to a command to computer 101 from a remoteterminal when an arbitrage opportunity is identified, or insteadgenerate an alert message which is displayed to the trading entity (seeFIG. 9) whereby the trading entity is provided with discretion as towhether or not to proceed with the arbitrage transaction.

With reference to FIG. 10, the operation of a second embodiment of theelectronic trading system according to the present invention includesthe following steps:

1001: The trading entities enter credit and auto-arbitrage parameters(as described above with reference to FIG. 7) into their traderterminals. The trader terminals then transmit this parameter informationto computer 101.

1002: The computer 101 stores the credit and arbitrage parameterinformation.

1003: The trading entities enter bids and offers into the system whichare uploaded to and stored by computer 101.

1004: The computer then distributes the offers and bids to the traderterminals where the offers and bids are displayed. In this embodiment,there is no pre-filtering function which determines which bids andoffers may be displayed to a trading entity based on creditavailability. However, this feature may be added without changing theoperation of this embodiment of the electronic trading system accordingto the present invention.

1005: Based on the stored credit and auto-arbitrage parameterinformation, if computer 101 detects an arbitrage opportunity, computer101 automatically initiates the locking procedure whereby all tradesnecessary to complete the arbitrage transaction are locked to avoid anyrisk to the trading entity taking advantage of the arbitrageopportunity.

1006: If the computer 101 is able to lock all necessary trades, itexecutes the trades, thereby completing the arbitration transaction.

1007: The computer 101 then notifies the trading entity as to theresults of the arbitration transaction.

1008: In the event that the computer 101 cannot lock all tradesnecessary to complete the arbitrage transaction, the computer will notexecute any of the trades. Notification to the trading entity in thiscase may be provided but is not necessary if the trading entity'sposition has not been affected.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 10, thecomputer may also generate an alert message to the trading entity toenable the trading entity to decide whether to pursue the arbitrageoption. However, if the trader terminal itself generates the alertmessage, the trader terminal is provided with logic whereby which it maydetermine which trades are actually available to the trading entitybased on the trading entity's credit and auto-arbitrage parameters (asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 7).

The electronic trading system according to the present invention iscapable of automatically identifying arbitrage opportunities thatinvolve a chain of multiple trades and multiple intermediaries, forexample, a process by which S4 sells to S2, S2 sells to S3, and S3 sellsto S1. In this sequence of trades, both S2 and S3 may profit, or one orboth parties may agree to facilitate the trades to gain access to marketflow information or for other non-financial purposes.

In the electronic trading system according to the present invention, itis crucial that the system be able to perform multiple tradessimultaneously to avoid creating any risk to the trading entityconducting the arbitrage transaction. The multiple transactions must betreated as contingent transactions, wherein one transaction cannot takeplace unless the others are also available. For example, a computerwhich stores all offers and bids available in the system is useful toensure that one transaction does not take place unless others also takeplace. As a result, it is difficult to incorporate the auto-arbitragefeature according to the present invention into a distributed tradingsystem which does not have a repository of trade information as does thesystem shown in FIG. 1 because the coordination of locking of multipletransactions in a distributed system (one without a computer) issignificantly more complex.

With reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B, the arbitrage opportunityidentification process will now be described in greater detail. Thisprocess, which may be automatically performed by computer 101 or traderterminals S1–S4, includes the following steps:

1101: Based on stored credit parameter information, the computer 101 ortrader terminal (e.g., any of S1–S4) identifies the best bid priceavailable to a trading entity.

1102: Similarly, using the stored credit parameter information, thecomputer 101 or trader terminal identifies the best offer priceavailable to that trading entity.

1103: Using the auto-arbitrage “minimum spread” parameter entered by thetrading entity (see FIG. 8), the computer 101 or trader terminalcompares the minimum spread value with the spread between the identifiedoffer and bid prices.

1104: If the spread between the best offer and bid prices is greaterthan or equal to the minimum spread value entered by the trading entity,the computer 101 or trader terminal then compares the “minimum amount”value entered by the trading entity with the total amount of allidentified arbitrage transactions. If only the best bid and offer havebeen identified, the total amount is the lesser of the available amountsof the best bid and offer. For example, if the bid is for 3 million butthe offer is only for 2 million, the computer 101 or trader terminalwill compare the minimum amount value with 2 million (the amount thatcan be bought and sold). If the best bid and offer and the next-best bidand offer have been identified (as described below in step 1107), thetotal amount is determined by adding the available amount of eachtransaction. The computer 101 will determine the optimum amountavailable by automatically identifying the best possible combination(s)of arbitrage transactions available to the trading entity.

1105: If the total amount that can be traded is greater than or equal tothe minimum amount parameter, the computer 101 either (1) initiates thelocking procedure described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10whereby both transactions are locked to prevent risk to the tradingentity or (2) generates an alert message (see FIG. 9) which istransmitted to the trading entity. If the trader terminal identifies thearbitrage opportunity, the trader terminal either (1) automaticallysends an “execute” command to computer 101 or (2) generates an alertsignal which is displayed to the trading entity (see FIG. 9).

1106: If the spread available is less than the minimum spread valueentered by the trading entity, no arbitrage opportunity exists.

1107: If the amount available is less than the minimum amount valueentered by the trading entity, the computer 101 identifies the next besttransaction available to the trading entity and performs the minimumspread and minimum amount analysis again to try to build up the totalamount of the transaction to satisfy the minimum amount parameter.

An alternative operation of the system according to the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 11B. The operation illustrated in FIG.11B is similar to that described in FIG. 11A, but includes severaladditional steps. As shown in FIG. 11B, when the minimum amountrequirement of step 1104 is satisfied, the computer 101 then comparesthe total amount of the arbitrage transaction with the maximum amountparameter entered by the trading entity (step 1110).

1111: If the total size is less than the maximum amount, the computer101 identifies the next-best transaction available to the trading entityand evaluates this transaction to attempt to build up the amount of thetransaction to the maximum amount parameter. If the trading entity hasnot entered a maximum amount parameter, the computer 101 automaticallycontinues to add the next-best transactions until no furthertransactions are available based on the other name switch parameters andthen executes the transactions.

1112: If the total amount that can be traded is greater than or equal tothe maximum amount parameter, the computer 101 either (1) initiates thelocking procedure described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10whereby all transactions up to the maximum amount are locked to preventrisk to the trading entity or (2) generates an alert message (see FIG.9) which is transmitted to the trading entity.

1113: If an “average spread OK” option is selected by the trading entity(see FIG. 8), the computer 101 may continue to identify bids and offerswhich can be traded but have a spread less than the minimum spread setby the trading entity provided that the weighted average of theidentified bids and offers having a minimum or greater spread and theidentified bids and offers having a below-minimum spread remains equalto or greater than the minimum spread set by the trading entity.

Once the arbitrage transaction has been completed, acknowledgmentsignals may be generated by the computer 101 and sent to the appropriatetrader terminals. The generation of these acknowledgment signals may beaccomplished, for example, using the acknowledgment generation systemdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/364,009, filed Dec. 27,1994, and incorporated herein by reference.

With reference to FIG. 12, the operation of another embodiment of theelectronic trading system having a name switch feature according to thepresent invention includes the following steps:

1201: The trading entities enter credit and name switch parameters intotheir trader terminals (e.g, any of S1–S4), e.g., via a screen such asthat shown in FIG. 13. The trader terminals then transmit the parametersto the computer 101.

1202: The parameters are stored in computer 101 and optionally stored intrader terminals, e.g., S1–S4.

1203: Bids and offers entered by trading entities on the system arestored in computer 101.

1204: The computer 101 identifies a potential transaction.

1205: The computer checks the amount of available credit between theparties to the transaction.

1206: If there is insufficient credit available between the parties, thecomputer 101 searches for name switch possibilities based on name switchparameters entered by the traders into the system. For example, thecomputer may search for those parties that indicate “yes” in the “nameswitch” column of the entry screen shown in FIG. 13.

1207: If only one name switch option is identified by the computer 101,the computer then checks other name switch parameters entered by thetrader, for example, minimum spread, minimum size, maximum size andremaining credit parameters as shown in FIG. 13. These criteria must besatisfied for both parties to the transaction. For example, withreference to the name switch parameters shown in FIG. 13, to determinewhether there is a sufficient minimum spread for a party to facilitate atransaction between parties S2 and S4, the computer may either selectthe larger of the two minimum spread values (i.e., “0.02”, the valueentered for trader S4) or combine the two spreads (i.e., “0.03”) and usethe combined value to determine whether a name switch can occur.

An example of the name switch option determination will now be provided.It is assumed that a transaction is desired between trading entities S2and S4. However, there is insufficient bilateral credit between S2 andS4 to enable execution of the transaction. Therefore, computer 101searches for a trading entity such as S3 which has entered a “yes” inits name switch category for both S2 and S4 (see FIG. 14C). The computer101 then compares the bid-offer spread of the transaction between S2 andS4 with the maximum of the minimum spread set by S3 for trading entitiesS2 and S4. As shown in FIG. 14C, S3 has entered a 0.01 minimum spreadfor S2 and a 0.02 minimum spread for S4. Therefore, the computer 101selects the maximum of these spreads, or 0.02. The computer 101 thendetermines the allowable amount of the trade based upon the minimum andmaximum values set by S3 for S2 and S4 respectively, such that theamount of the trade must be greater than the two minimums and subject toa cap equal to the lower of the two maximums. If all criteria aresatisfied, the computer 101 executes a name switch enabling thetransaction to be completed between S2 and S4 via S3.

1208: If multiple name switch options are identified by the computer101, the computer evaluates the other name switch parameters of eachname switching possibility (e.g., minimum spread, minimum and maximumsize, and credit remaining parameters for each trading party) toidentify a subset of available name switch candidates as described abovein step 1207.

1209: The computer then selects a name switching entity from this subsetusing a selection process. For example, the selection process may berandom, sequential, equal allocation, or any other appropriate selectionprocess. Using a random selection process, the computer 101 selects fromamong the identified subset at random. Using a sequential selectionprocess, the computer 101 selects the next available name switchingparty and rotates sequentially through the possible name switchingparties. In an equal allocation selection process, the computer 101determines the volume of name switching transactions that each nameswitching party has executed and attempts to equally allocate the nameswitching transactions between the available parties.

1210–1212: Once a name switch party is selected, the name switch isperformed, the transaction is automatically executed as described above,and the parties are notified accordingly.

1220: If no parties are available based on the name switchingparameters, no transaction is executed.

A sample screen by which trading entities may enter credit and nameswitch parameters into the system is shown in FIG. 13. Using thisscreen, trading entities may enter credit limits for each potentialcounterparty, whether the trading entity is willing to name switch withthat counterparty, and other name switch parameters for eachcounterparty.

The operation of the name switch feature of the system according to thepresent invention will now be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 14–18.

For a name switch to occur, there must be sufficient bilateral creditavailable both between the less credit-worthy trading entity and themore credit-worthy trading entity and between the more credit-worthytrading entity and the party with whom the less credit-worthy tradingentity desires to trade. For example, with reference to FIGS. 14A–D,assume trading entity S1 enters the credit and name switch parametersshown in FIG. 14A. Similarly, trading entities S2, S3 and S4respectively enter credit and name switch parameters shown in FIGS.14B–D. Based on the parameters entered by trading entities S1–S4, thefollowing sample transactions are desired by trading entity S1:

FIG. 15: A match is tentatively possible between trading entity S1 andtrading entity S2 for an amount of $5M.

In this example, trading entity S2 has no credit remaining with tradingentity S1. Therefore trading entity S1 cannot trade directly withtrading entity S2. However, trading entity S2 has extended sufficientcredit to trading entity S3. Also, trading entity S3 has agreed to nameswitch for trading entity S1, and trading entity S3 has extendedsufficient credit to trading entity S1 and trading entity S2 to coverthe transaction. Finally, trading entity S1 has extended sufficientcredit to trading entity S3 to cover the transaction. Since there issufficient bilateral credit between S1 and S3 and between S3 and S2, thename switch may take place (providing that the minimum spread and otherparameters are satisfied as described above with reference to FIG. 12).

FIG. 16: A match is possible between trading entity S1 and tradingentity S2 for an amount of $10M.

Trading entity S1 cannot trade directly with trading entity S2 becausetrading entity S2 has not extended sufficient credit to trading entityS1. However, in this situation, trading entity S1 cannot name switchwith trading entity S3 because trading entity S3 has not extendedsufficient credit to trading entity S2 to cover the transaction.

FIG. 17: A match is possible between trading entity S1 and tradingentity S4 for an amount of $10M.

Trading entity S1 cannot trade directly with trading entity S4 becausetrading entity S4 has not extended sufficient credit to trading entityS1. Also, trading entity S1 cannot name switch with trading entity S3because trading entity S3 also does not have sufficient credit withtrading entity S4.

FIG. 18: A match is possible between trading entity S1 and tradingentity S4 for an amount of $10M.

Trading entity S1 cannot trade directly with trading entity S4 asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 17. Further, trading entity S1cannot name switch with trading entity S2 because trading entity S2 hasnot extended sufficient credit to trading entity S1 to cover the trade.

While the electronic trading system according to the present inventionis capable of performing the name switch function based on adetermination of bilateral credit availability, the system may alsoperform the name switch function based on unilateral credit availabilityas is appropriate for certain types of transactions.

The automatic name switch feature of the electronic trading systemaccording to the present invention is also independent of any creditpre-filtering display function of the computer 101 or trader terminals(e.g., S1–S4).

The automatic name switch feature of the present invention may be basedon pre-existing commercial relationships between trading parties ratherthan on a direct profit basis as the result of a price spread like theauto-arbitrage feature, or on a combination of the two incentives. Oneexample of such a commercial relationship is an arrangement by which themore credit-worthy party charges the less credit-worthy party a fixedamount for each name switch transaction. The less credit-worthy partymay agree to pay this to increase its available options in the market.Therefore, the name switch feature of the electronic trading systemaccording to the present invention is based on user election (the userelects to credit lines switch), not system selection as is used forclearing houses in which credit risk is mutualized.

An optional feature of the system according to the present inventionincluding auto-arbitrage and name switch features is a trade ticketoutput feed located at the trader terminals S1–S4 and/or the computer101. One possible trade ticket output feed is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,003,473.

In summary, the auto-arbitrage and name switch features of theelectronic trading system according to the present invention employsimilar network principles but address different market concerns. Theauto-arbitrage feature enables trading entities to avail themselves oflow-risk trading opportunities. The automatic name switch featureenables trading entities to benefit from commercial relationships withother better-known or better-ranked (credit-wise) trading entities. Bothfeatures benefit the system by increasing liquidity without the additionof new bids and offers by performing trades that otherwise would not bepossible in the known systems due to credit limitations.

While the present invention has been particularly described withreference to the preferred embodiments, it should be readily apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications inform and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. It is intended that the appended claims include suchchanges and modifications.

1. An electronic trading system comprising: a plurality of traderterminals; a computer connected to said plurality of trader terminalsvia a communications network, said computer receiving and storingtrading data from said plurality of trader terminals; detecting meansfor automatically detecting an available arbitrage transaction, saidavailable arbitrage transaction including a plurality of potentialtrades based on said trading data; executing means for automaticallyexecuting said available arbitrage transaction by executing saidplurality of potential trades, said executing means including lockingmeans by which said plurality of potential trades are locked prior toexecution of said available arbitrage transaction.
 2. An electronictrading system according to claim 1, further comprising notificationmeans by which a trading entity associated with one of said traderterminals is notified that said arbitrage transaction has been executed.3. An electronic trading system according to claim 1, further comprisingalert means for alerting a trading entity associated with one of saidtrader terminals of a detected arbitrage opportunity detected by saiddetecting means and providing said trading entity with an option topursue said detected arbitrage opportunity.
 4. An electronic tradingsystem according to claim 1, wherein said available arbitragetransaction is one in which a first trading entity enables a traderequested by a second trading entity and a third trading entity, saidfirst trading entity having sufficient credit with said second and thirdtrading entities to complete said trade, said second and third tradingentities being unable to trade directly with one another.
 5. Anelectronic trading system, comprising: a plurality of trader terminals;a computer connected to said plurality of trader terminals via acommunications network, said computer receiving and storing name switchparameter data from said plurality of trader terminals; detecting meansfor automatically detecting an available name switch transaction basedon said name switch parameter data; executing means for executing saidavailable name switch transaction.
 6. An electronic trading systemaccording to claim 5, further comprising notification means by which atrading entity associated with one of said plurality of trader terminalsis notified that said name switch transaction has been executed.
 7. Anelectronic trading system according to claim 5, wherein said name switchparameter data includes a minimum spread parameter and/or a minimum sizeparameter and/or a maximum size parameter.
 8. An electronic tradingsystem according to claim 5, wherein said name switch parameter dataincludes a minimum spread parameter, an average spread parameter, aminimum size parameter, and a maximum size parameter.
 9. An electronictrading system according to claim 5, wherein said available name switchtransaction is one in which a first trading entity enables a traderequested by a second trading entity and a third trading entity byallowing said second trading entity to trade with said third tradingentity using said first trading entity's credit line, said first tradingentity having sufficient credit with said second and third tradingentities to complete said trade, said second and third trading entitiesbeing unable to trade directly with one another.
 10. An electronictrading system comprising: a plurality of trader terminals; a computerconnected to said plurality of trader terminals via a communicationsnetwork, said computer receiving and storing trading data from saidplurality of trader terminals; a detector for automatically detecting anavailable arbitrage transaction, said available arbitrage transactionincluding a plurality of potential trades based on said trading data; anexecuting circuit for automatically executing said available arbitragetransaction by executing said plurality of potential trades, saidexecuting circuit including a locking circuit by which said plurality ofpotential trades are locked prior to execution of said availablearbitrage transaction.
 11. An electronic trading system according toclaim 10, further comprising a notification circuit by which a tradingentity associated with one of said plurality of trader terminals isnotified that an arbitrage transaction has been performed.
 12. Anelectronic trading system according to claim 10, further comprising analert circuit for alerting a trading entity associated with one of saidplurality of trader terminals of a detected arbitrage opportunitydetected by said detector and providing said trading entity with theoption to pursue said detected arbitrage opportunity.
 13. An electronictrading system according to claim 10, wherein said available arbitragetransaction is one in which a first trading entity enables a traderequested by a second trading entity and a third trading entity, saidfirst trading entity having sufficient credit with said second and thirdtrading entities to complete said trade, said second and third tradingentities being unable to trade directly with one another.
 14. Anelectronic trading system, comprising: a plurality of trader terminals;a computer connected to said plurality of trader terminals via acommunications network, said computer receiving and storing said nameswitch parameter data from said plurality of trader terminals; adetector for automatically detecting an available name switchtransaction based on said name switch parameter data; and an executingcircuit for executing said available name switch transaction.
 15. Anelectronic trading system according to claim 14, further comprising anotification circuit by which a trading entity associated with one ofsaid trader terminals is notified that a name switch transaction hasbeen executed.
 16. An electronic trading system according to claim 14,wherein said name switch parameter data includes a minimum spreadparameter and/or a minimum size parameter and/or a maximum sizeparameter.
 17. An electronic trading system according to claim 14,wherein said available name switch transaction is one in which a firsttrading entity enables a trade requested by a second trading entity anda third trading entity by allowing said second trading entity to tradewith said third trading entity using said first trading entity's creditline, said first trading entity having sufficient credit with saidsecond and third trading entities to complete said trade, said secondand third trading entities being unable to trade directly with oneanother.
 18. A trader terminal in communication with a network, saidtrader terminal comprising: an input receiving arbitrage parameter dataand trading data, said trading data including information about at leasttwo trades; a detector for detecting an arbitrage transactionopportunity based on said arbitrage parameter data and said tradingdata; an arbitrage availability lock for locking in the availability ofsaid at least two trades; and an executor for executing said arbitragetransaction opportunity by executing said at least two trades.